Kansas Reflector staff breaks down the first week of the legislative session
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What key points did Governor Laura Kelly highlight in her State of the State address?
Well, we're a week into the legislative session and lawmakers have already kicked into high gear. Welcome to the Kansas Reflector podcast. I'm editor Sherman Smith, and the whole new staff is here to help me make sense of it all. We have reporter Anna Kaminsky, senior reporter Morgan Chilson, and very senior reporter Tim Carpenter. Thank you all for being here.
Glad to be here.
So, lawmakers came in January 12th, Monday, they gaveled in with the usual pomp and circumstance, and then they got straight to work. And on the second day of the session, as we see every year, the governor delivered her State of the State. This is the final speech that Governor Laura Kelly is going to give as a State of the State. So, Tim, what was she talking
about?
So
Governor Kelly stood before the House and Senate and delivered in part sort of a victory lap speech. She touted the get of the Kansas City Chiefs coming to a new stadium in Kansas. She also praised herself for getting rid of budget gimmicks that were common in a previous administration, properly funding K-12 schools, restoring integrity to the state's highway program. And she also has touted the idea that she's consolidated about 20 programs involving early childhood education and likes that reform. She also said that the state has brought in $30 billion in investment during her two administrations, created 80,000 jobs, cut taxes by about $1 billion. created a rainy day fund of two billion, put high speed internet to 117,000 homes and businesses, paid down a bunch of debt, and for gosh sakes, even crime went down.
The other element to her speech was to make it clear that she feels we're in extraordinary political times. And she blamed both parties for doing what, allowing to become acceptable to treat other people in uncivilized ways. And she described it as language and behavior that we wouldn't tolerate for our own children. And so she really urged legislators to be more bipartisan and collegial and try to work together because she believes that's, in fact, the kind of politicians that Kansans want.
Yeah, a lot of talk about civility during that speech. And of course, every year the governor delivers her speech and then the Republicans get to respond. They alternate every year between the Senate president and the House Speaker. This year it was House Speaker Dan Hawkins. Anna, you had the thrill of going through Dan Hawkins' speech and writing about it. What did you have to say?
Yeah, this was also Speaker Hawkins' last state of the state by his own characterization. I found it really interesting. I went back and I looked at his speech from 2024. And the tone shift from then to now was pretty significant.
How did House Speaker Dan Hawkins respond to the governor’s speech and what were his priorities?
Back in 2024... He had a lot more attacks on Governor Kelly and the Biden administration. There were still a few this year, but markedly fewer. His speech centered on listing wins from the last session, including tax relief, reducing spending. But all in all, he talked a lot about money by that token. He talked about reducing the state budget without compromising core services. This year, it's going to be the second year where the legislature is proposing and putting forth its own budget without going through the customary process of waiting for the governor to propose hers. So, in that, Hawkins talked a lot about prioritizing schools and healthcare. I thought these were interesting promises. I think one thing within the schools topic is a cell phone ban in K-12 schools that has really garnered bipartisan support.
At the same time, he and other Republicans haven't characteristically been in favor of fully funding K-12 schools. On the side of health care, he mentioned increasing hospital or right-sizing hospital reimbursements, correcting prescription drug prices. But again, Hawkins has historically been against expanding Medicaid in Kansas, which is something that has been shown through various studies could improve health care in the state.
We should note that Hawkins is leaving the legislature to run for statewide office. He's running for insurance commissioner.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What key points did Governor Laura Kelly highlight in her State of the State address?
0:00–2:51
2
How did House Speaker Dan Hawkins respond to the governor’s speech and what were his priorities?
2:51–7:49
3
What were the main arguments in the emergency hearing on gender‑marker bans for driver’s licenses?
7:49–12:28
4
How is the proposed 3 % cap on residential property‑tax assessments expected to affect Kansas homeowners?
12:28–16:08
5
What budget proposals did Governor Kelly present and how are Republicans reacting to them?
16:08–19:57
6
Why is the SNAP error‑rate issue causing controversy in the upcoming budget discussion?
19:57–24:12
7
What is the power struggle between Attorney General Chris Kobach and Governor Kelly over federal litigation?
24:12–29:06
8
How is Kansas handling the new CDC vaccine schedule and what did the KDHE spokesperson say?
29:06–31:56
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Kansas Reflector Podcast
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